April 5, 1916 EARLY ARRESTS PREVENT TROUBLE IN 'ROUGH' WARDS.

April 5, 1916

EARLY ARRESTS PREVENT TROUBLE IN 'ROUGH' WARDS.

Several Hundred Alleged Pendergast "Burlies" on Hand When North Side Polls Open, "Put Away."

The early arrest of several hundred Pendergast gunmen and "bruisers" resulted in making the roughest precincts of the North Side look like a Sunday school, so far as any disorder was concerned. Each of the First ward polling places was guarded by scores of burly members of the dominant faction that in that particular precinct and every preparation had been made for trouble. There was no hilarity and the usual good natured chaffing that exists whenever men congregate was conspicuously absent. Nervous tension ran high and everybody was on the alert. The saloons were closed but there was considerable drinking and many of the outside guard became noticeably the worse for liquor as the afternoon wore on. Despite this fact, there were few altercations and these were quickly stopped. The men of both factions were so wrought up that they seemed to feel only a spark was needed to set off the pent-up bad feeling.

Denny Costello, the Jost candidate in the First ward against John P. O'Neill for alderman, was one of those arrested yesterday. He was arrested on a charge of assaulting a voter. He was released on bond. It was charged that Costello and another man intimidated an O'Neill voter. Costello contends the O'Neill voter was intimidating the other voters.

It was a t this place that the first serious outbreak of the day was expected, as Costello was relied upon to take the Pendergast-O'Neill faction down to defeat in the headquarters of the goat boss. After Costello's arrest strict order prevailed in his precinct. He obtained his release quickly and spent the rest of the day in personal command of his forces around the polling place.

Bulk of Vote in Early.

As the Pendergast leaders were making frantic efforts to secure the release of the arrested men by means of habeas corpus writs, the Jost followers were practically unmolested in their efforts to get their entire registration voted. They were so successful in this that the court ran light in the late afternoon and the expected rush when laborers left their work at 6 o'clock failed to materialize.

Apparently a great many of the laborers who reside in the north precincts of the First ward had taken a holiday to do their voting early.

The activity of the police, whose control remained in the hands of the mayor and Shannon throughout the day, was discouragingly thorough, providing there had been any desire upon the part of the Pendergast adherents to make a foray upon the Jost stronghold, and the Shannon men evidently did not feel themselves strong enough to try and rush the outer defenses of Pendergst.

"Tom Marks, Republican, appeared in Costellos's precinct in the morning and high words ensued between him and the rabbit aldermanic candidate. Marks moved away after that time and there was no actual meeting of forces.

The voters, in most cases, were being voted, rather than voting. As they approached the doors of the polling places in virtually all precincts they were faced by a precinct captain from the faction in command.

In some cases swift words were exchanged in an undertone but more often the men followed instructions and said nothing to indicate that they knew they were being watched.

"Unmarked Ones Not Botherered.

Bona fide residents of the precinct were allowed to vote as they pleased at any polling place, providing they were not wearing the ribbon of the minority faction and were not known as being identified with the organization of that faction.

In other words, a Pendergast man could vote in a Jost precinct and vice versa, providing he kept his mouth shut and came alone. Neither side permitted the emissaries of the other to appear in groups and men known to be henchman of one boss or the other were careful to remain in their own territory. They knew that a careless straying beyond the boundary lines was likely to result in hostilities before explanations could be made.